It is very common in the workplace for groups of people to collaborate together on projects. In many cases, such projects involve the creation of electronic documents, such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, engineering diagrams, or other types of documents. Through collaboration, a better work product is typically produced than by individuals working alone.
In the past, collaboration during the creation of electronic documents was limited to printing a copy of a document and passing it around among the various collaborators for their comments. However, software tools have been developed that allow a much greater level of participation and interactivity by the collaborators. For instance, World Wide Web (“Web” or “WWW”)-based tools have been created that allow users to collaborate together on projects, including the creation of electronic documents. Through such Web-based tools, users can share documents, communicate with one another, and perform other collaborative tasks. However, these Web-based tools suffer from several drawbacks.
One drawback to Web-based collaboration tools stems from the fact that it can be very time consuming to access the Web-based collaboration data. For instance, if a user is working on a project-related document in a word processing application program and desires to locate data regarding another document related to the project, the user must launch a Web browser application, navigate to the Web site provided for the project, and locate the data. Once the data has been located, the user then has to close the Web browser application program and return to the current document. This process can be time consuming and distracting for a user.
Another shortcoming of current Web-based collaboration tools stems from the fact that it is often difficult and time consuming to communicate with other project co-collaborators electronically. For instance, if one user is working on a project-related electronic document and wants to communicate with a co-collaborator, the user must first launch a Web browser application, navigate to the Web site provided for the project, and locate the contact information, such as an electronic mail (“e-mail”) address or phone number, for the co-collaborator they wish to contact. Next, the user may switch to an instant messaging (“IM”) application to determine if the co-collaborator is on-line and available to receive messages. If the co-collaborator is not on-line, the user must then switch to a personal information manager (“PIM”) or e-mail client application to send the co-collaborator an e-mail message regarding the document. This process can also be time consuming and distracting for a user.
It is with respect to these considerations and other that the various embodiments of the present invention have been made.